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Topic: Pollen in my honey super (Read 6606 times)

I noticed some cells of pollen in my honey super. I did not notice this last year. I am not using an excuder, does this mean my queen has been upstairs? How will this impact my honey? There are probably 20 cells per frame.

Most of the pollen will filter out when you run the honey through a strainer. However, pollen is a natural part of beekeeping and it's pretty normal to have bits of pollen in your raw honey. It's a good thing, really!

Most of the pollen will filter out when you run the honey through a strainer. However, pollen is a natural part of beekeeping and it's pretty normal to have bits of pollen in your raw honey. It's a good thing, really!

If you are not interested in extracting, but only in comb production and possible sales, is some pollen a good thing? (If so how much?) I would think it would be detrimental to selling honey in the comb, except for certain persons big into organics etc. Does the general public understand the appearance of pollen in their honey is not a bad thing? I would think to the uninformed general public, it would be considered a contaminate.

I agree, Lakeman, that the general public would not be impressed with pollen. I have been a comb eater my entire life, and before becoming a beek I would have been not pleased to see colored paste in my comb :D These days, of course, I would try to taste it specifically to find out what flowers it might have come from!

OTOH, an informed, "organic" customer could definitely learn to appreciate the pollen and its purported nutritional values and allergy-inhibiting effects!

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The pedigree of honey Does not concern the bee; A clover, any time, to him Is aristocracy. ---Emily Dickinson

I sent my sister some of my 50/50 honey/pollen spread. She'd been reading up on pollen as a supplement and was very interested. When I sent her the mix, she loved it immediately, and she has asked me for more. She says it helps her feel better physically. It does me too, gives me more energy.

Everything in moderation of course. Too much pollen at once can make a person feel sick, so it must be consumed sparingly.

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We are what we repeatedly do.Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.~ Aristotle

Another question or two, my first thought on first hearing of eating pollen for health purposes (upon becoming a beekeekper) , and being a person that evidently has numerous allergys (none specifically identified) whose nose runs just about daily, if pollen causes reactions, eating it would appear to be flirting with danger. Is there any pollen that is known to be dangerous to consume? Does pollen in the nose cause a reaction, but never when consumed as food? How about when breathing through the mouth rather than the nose?

---->These days, of course, I would try to taste it specifically to find out what flowers it might have come from!<-----

Can you tell by tasteing what plant the pollen is from? does the pollen tast like the plant smells? are there any known plant pollens that are detrimental to good/quality honey?

I live on the Lake, and in the spring the surface of the lake is covered with a thick layer of yellowish/greenish pollen which I have suspected to be pine tree, and oaktree pollen. Do these trees have blooms that provide necter (I have never noticed any)? Do the bees gather pollen from plants that do not provide necter?

Oh, by the way I have always been an inqusitive what if, why, how does it work kind of person, and after all, if you don't ask, you will never know.

All pollen can be harmful to the right person when consumed. It is always best when consuming pollen to start out at very small amounts at first and then slowly increase as you go. Of course. I am talking about straight pollen.

All pollen can be harmful to the right person when consumed. It is always best when consuming pollen to start out at very small amounts at first and then slowly increase as you go. Of course. I am talking about straight pollen.

I see this as a good reason it would not be good to have it in your honey.

The folks that get honey from me WANT pollen in the honey and are happy if it starts to granulate/crystalize.

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Oh I absolutely agree pollen is wanted in honey and that pollen is a good thing. What I was meaning is that you should be careful if you start taking pollen straight as a supplement. If a person downs 2 tablespoons of pollen in the morning as supplement and has never taken it before they should be careful as to how much they take right off the bat.

Yes, it is the miniscule amounts of pollen in honey that will desensitize, not greater quantities.

They usually store the pollen by the brood. So if you have pollen upstairs, there was likely brood upstairs and they backfilled as the brood hatched, and then just filled in over the remaining pollen with honey.

With only a bottom entrance, they are more likely to store it in the bottom with the brood and not haul it all the way up to the honey supers. Queen excluders also help eliminate pollen in the honey supers by making it difficult for them to move the pollen through.

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"Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas Edison

With only a bottom entrance, they are more likely to store it in the bottom with the brood and not haul it all the way up to the honey supers. Queen excluders also help eliminate pollen in the honey supers by making it difficult for them to move the pollen through.

If you use Ross Round like a Queen excluder it will help eliminate pollen in the honey supers

BEE HAPPY Jim134 :)

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"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways." John F. KennedyFranklin County Beekeepers Association MA. http://www.franklinmabeekeepers.org/